How Defeat Can Destroy Us.

This is not your final race. I remember several times I thought it was the end for me. I thought I was going to die. God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of love, peace, and a sound mind. This is how I now gauge my devil’s death wish on my life. I may be in pain, or agony over how people treat me, but this cannot be of God.

What about your life? Do you feel like giving up or that this is your final show?

Paul says in Philippians 3:12-15,

“¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

There is indeed a race in this thing called life. So how are you going to run in and where will your finish line be?

 Whose Race is it?

Not everyone is going to cheer you on but remember this is God’s show. He’s the creator of this race called life. You’re not running for people, you are running for God. Hurtful people and a chaotic world are not going anywhere so you may as well lace up your shoes and make it a great race. Run your hardest because you have no competition.

It’s a full-on battle. If. You look at history and the Bible you see there’s always been a battle and it’s only getting worse. Here’s the good news. If. You belong to God it gets better because no matter what happens you’re living for eternity.

Jesus says: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for, in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12

 

Trust God and do good. Anyone that is driving you away from goodness is working against God’s plan for you. Don’t allow it! You will know them by their fruit.

How can we not allow these people and things trying to trip us up in our race?

We use God’s filter. If what anyone says or does is damaging to your soul,  protect your peace. Don’t feed into it because what you feed will grow. You got to starve the poison. If you are damaging yourself with drugs or alcohol do whatever it is to quit. Stop ruining yourself with damaging people, places, or things. Relocate. If these damaging things are loved ones pray for them but keep your peace.

Seeking Change

Acknowledge your weakness and be willing to change. If you do this, you are growing. It’s only when we don’t acknowledge our need for change that we allow defeat to set in. Have the willingness to be willing.

^{23 “}Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23-24

Seeking change allows you to run your race with passion because you are pursuing your purpose. Change can be scary at first, but we must consider the pain we will face for remaining the same. The world is ever-changing and so are we but we must get clear on our mission or we are taken over by the world’s opinion.

Conclusion

This is not your final race. As Christians, we are challenging the status quo. We have made the decisions to follow Christ and we are not backing down. We are lacing up our racing shoes not to beat our opponent but to please God. This alone makes us a winner, for which God will reward us for.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25